The Copa América is the main football competition of the men's national football teams governed by CONMEBOL. Held since 1916, it is the oldest international continental football competition. It was originally called the South American Championship, changing to the current name in 1975.
Colombia have played in three Copa América finals. They lost the 1975 final play-off against Peru, but won the title at their first home tournament in 2001 after defeating Mexico. They then lost to Argentina in the 2024 final.
Overall record South American Championship / Copa América recordYearRoundPositionSquad 1916Not a CONMEBOL member 1917 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1929 1935 1937Withdrew 1939 1941 1942 1945 Fifth place 5th 6 1 1 4 7 25Squad 1946Withdrew 1947Eighth place 8th 7 0 2 5 2 19Squad 1949 8th 7 0 2 5 4 23Squad 1953Withdrew 1955 1956 1957 Fifth place 5th 6 2 0 4 10 25Squad 1959Withdrew 1959 1963 Seventh place 7th 6 0 1 5 10 19Squad 1967Did not qualify 1975 Runners-up 2nd 9 6 0 3 11 5Squad 1979 Group stage 5th 4 2 1 1 5 2Squad 1983 7th 4 1 2 1 5 5Squad 1987 Third place 3rd 4 3 0 1 8 3Squad 1989 Group stage 6th 4 1 2 1 5 4Squad 1991 Fourth place 4th 7 2 2 3 5 6Squad 1993 Third place 3rd 6 3 2 1 6 4Squad 1995 3rd 6 3 1 2 7 8Squad 1997 Quarter-finals 8th 4 1 0 3 6 7Squad 1999 5th 4 3 0 1 8 4Squad 2001 Champions 1st 6 6 0 0 11 0Squad 2004 Fourth place 4th 6 3 1 2 7 7Squad 2007 Group stage 9th 3 1 0 2 3 9Squad 2011 Quarter-finals 6th 4 2 1 1 3 2Squad 2015 6th 4 1 2 1 1 1Squad 2016 Third place 3rd 6 3 1 2 7 6Squad 2019 Quarter-finals 5th 4 3 1 0 4 0Squad 2021 Third place 3rd 7 2 3 2 7 7Squad 2024 Runners-up 2nd 6 4 1 1 12 3SquadTotal1 Title24/48130532651154194—
2001 Copa América
Colombia won all six tournament matches in regular time and without conceding. This achievement is a rarity in Copa América history. The same feat was achieved by Uruguay in 1917 and 1987, and by Argentina in 1921. However, those teams only played two or three matches at those tournaments. Víctor Aristizábal, who played for Cali in the Colombian division at the time, scored in all matches except the final at least once and became the tournament's top scorer.
RoundOpponentScoreResultColombia scorersVenueGroup stage2–0WF. Grisales, V. Aristizábal Barranquilla1–0WV. Aristizábal2–0WV. Aristizábal , E. ArriagaQuarter-finals3–0WV. Aristizábal (2), G. HernándezArmeniaSemi-finals2–0WG. Bedoya, V. AristizábalManizalesFinal1–0WI. CórdobaBogotá
Record by opponent Colombia's highest victory in tournament history is a 5–0 win against Panama in 2024. Their biggest defeat was a 0–9 loss against Brazil in 1957.
South American Championship/Copa América matches (by team)Opponent35816174045312141422812632237121120401512410121323121001202013431001506151213173781817301001104004814361310184217113Total512950130154194
Record players
RankPlayerMatchesTournaments1Leonel Álvarez271987, 1989, 1991, 1993 and 1995Carlos Valderrama271987, 1989, 1991, 1993 and 19953René Higuita221987, 1989, 1991, 1995 and 19994Juan Cuadrado212011, 2015, 2016, 2019 and 20215Víctor Aristizábal201993, 1995, 1997 and 2001James Rodríguez202015, 2016, 2019 and 20247Arnoldo Iguarán191979, 1983, 1987, 1989 and 1991Luis Carlos Perea191987, 1989, 1991 and 19939Freddy Rincón181991, 1993 and 1995David Ospina182015, 2016, 2019 and 2021
Top goalscorers RankPlayerGoalsTournaments (goals)1Arnoldo Iguarán101979 (1), 1987 (4), 1989 (3) and 1991 (2)2Víctor Aristizábal81993 (1), 1997 (1) and 2001 (6)3Luis Díaz62021 (4) and 2024 (2)4Delio Gamboa51957 (3) and 1963 (2)Ernesto Díaz51975 (4) and 1979 (1)6Carlos Arango41947 (1) and 1957 (3)Antony de Ávila41989 (1) and 1991 (3)Freddy Rincón41993 (1) and 1995 (3)9Fulgencio Berdugo31945 (2) and 1949 (1)Neider Morantes31997 (2) and 1999 (1)James Rodríguez32016 (2) and 2024 (1)
Awards and records
Team awards Champions (1): 2001 Runners-up (2): 1975, 2024 Third place (5): 1987, 1993, 1995, 2016, 2021 Fair Play Award: 2024
Individual awards MVP 1987: Carlos Valderrama MVP 2024: James Rodríguez Top scorer 1975: Ernesto Díaz (4 goals) (shared) Top scorer 1987: Arnoldo Iguarán (4 goals) Top scorer 2001: Víctor Aristizábal (6 goals) Top scorer 2021: Luis Díaz (4 goals) (shared) Best young player 2015: Jeison Murillo
See also Colombia at the CONCACAF Gold Cup Colombia at the FIFA World Cup
References
External links RSSSF archives and results Soccerway database